Kabaneri and Exorcists
by KA-336
Summary: Allen only thought about getting away from the Black Order, from his friends, if only to protect them while he figured out how to defeat the Memory of the Fourteenth. He didn't think that Lenalee would have tried to follow after him. And now they're both in a world they don't know where trains are almost as important as life itself and creatures (once-human) are mankind's enemy
1. Prologue

Lenalee was on her knees as she watched Allen turn his back on her. Silvery tears cascaded from her amethyst eyes, glistening in the moonlight as they ran streaks through the dirt of her face. She had fought so hard to reach him. To beg him to come back. So...why...? With him turning away to leave in the Ark, why had she wasted so much effort to show only to end up like this? Wasn't Allen part of her family? Part of her world?

 _The Order will always be my home._

Lenalee almost didn't notice that she had gotten to her feet. She justed wanted Allen to wait. To come back. Everything was a mistake. Komui will fix it. Surely, he could.

Her legs moved before she made a conscious decision to act. Towards the Ark. Towards the disappearing back of her comrade. The distance between them felt so much longer than it should have.

"Allen!" she had cried, reaching out for him. He was now completely enveloped in the Ark gate. But she won't give up. Not yet.

Then Lenalee was engulfed in the Ark's light. She felt her fingers brush against the fabric that covered his back.

Immediately after, the gate shattered.


	2. Chapter I

Allen found himself opening his silver-gray eyes to the sky. No, not just the sky. There were plenty of trees as well, dancing in a light breeze.

"You're awake," came a relieved voice. Allen felt his gaze widen before looking over, finding Lenalee sitting next to him. She had a smile on her face. Allen, however, did not.

"Lenalee!" He sat up quickly, looking around at his surroundings for an escape route. After a moment, he released a defeated sigh. He couldn't just _run_ away. Lenalee's Dark Boots were more than capable of catching up to him. "Why...?"

Even without completing his sentence, Lenalee seemed to understand what he wanted to say. She leaned in and threw her arms around Allen, hugging him tightly as tears sprouted up in her eyes.

"Because we're family," she whispered.

Allen was still for a long moment. He then grabbed Lenalee's arms as gently as he could. "Lenalee...I don't want to hurt you-"

"You won't!"

"You don't _know_ that," he stated grimly. After a moment, he let her go and got to his feet. "Just let me go. I'll figure all of this out, okay? I won't let the Fourteenth win."

"B-but Allen!"

"I'll be fine." Allen gave Lenalee the most cheerful closed-eyed smile he could muster. "Trust me. Here, I'll send you a gate back to the Order. We're a bit far from it."

Allen focused on the melody that dwelled within him, attempting to summon the Ark. A long moment passed as nothing happened. Lenalee tilted her head slightly in confusion as a frown crossed over his features when he realized that he couldn't call it. He tried again and when he got no response, he dropped his hand. "I can't... I can't summon the Ark."

"Do you think it's the Millennium Earl," Lenalee asked, hopping to her feet before scanning the trees.

"I don't think so. If it were, the sky wouldn't look like this. It was different when he used the seal."

Allen held his hand to his chin thoughtfully, wondering how to proceed. _I can't lead Lenalee over to Mother's. There's a chance that she would lead the Black Order over to her. And my injuries..._

He paused, noting that his injuries didn't hurt as much from when he left the Order. He pulled up his shirt to see bandages covering the wound that had been festering as well as a few others that had taken place in the dungeons. Lenalee must've treated them.

"Allen," she asked hesitantly. He looked over at her as he let his shirt fall. "Do you know where we are?"

She must've forgotten that he had told her that he can't summon the Ark to places that he didn't know. A little lie can't hurt then. "No, I don-"

 _"Rrraaarrrrgh!"_

Cutting off his sentence, both Allen and Lenalee dived out of the way of a creature as soon as it came leaping from the cover of the trees. The former summoned Crown Clown, raising his claws to attack only to eventually pause. He had thought that what was after them was an Akuma but he had never heard one charge into battle like that. His eye hadn't even activated. But, looking at the creature now, he could see that it _wasn'_ _t_ one of the Millennium Earl's precious weapons. In fact, it looked like a human.

If humans had glowing veins, a glowing heart, a black sclera, and wide, gnashing teeth that had spittle flying from it's lips.

"What is that!?" Lenalee had cried out, her Dark Boots helping her dodge the thing as it headed towards her. It collided headfirst with a tree, growling and pulling away to show a decent-sized dent in the trunk.

"I don't know," Allen had responded, slashing vertically at it's chest. That only seemed to enrage the creature, making it lunge at him with more force. "Whatever it is, it isn't human!"

"Do we kill it!?"

Allen's face set. They were going to have to at this rate. He didn't feel like getting bit (he was only speculating by how it seemed eager to sink it's teeth into his skin) and this creature was giving him a bad omen. Bad omens normally come true for unlucky Allen Walker.

Seeing his expression, Lenalee steeled herself and attacked, kicking the creature through the trees. With how fast and hard it had been kicked, Allen was not surprised to see more than a few of the trees fall. No mortal, other than Innocence-enhanced Exorcists like Lenalee and himself, should be able to get up from that.

 _"Rrraaarrrraaaaagh!"_

"What!?" Allen raised Clown Crown as the creature came leaping back, knocking it as hard as possible to the side. He quickly scanned the creature to look for a weakness. Innocence did damage but that thing didn't seem weak to it. What could it's weakness be?

His silver eyes landed on the pulsing thing of it's chest. This was just speculation but all of his experience was saying that that just may be the key.

"The heart," he ordered, gripping his arm so he could progressively pull it into his broadsword. With Lenalee nodding in understanding, she was off in a flash, appearing only to kick the human-looking creature airborne. With a snarl tearing from it's ashen lips, Allen was there in a split second, twirling the sword when it came back down. As soon as it reached his level, Allen slashed as hard as possibly, mostly aiming for that pulsating organ.

His sword cut through almost with ease, sparks flying from the body just before it landed face-down in the dirt. The heart continued to throb almost pitifully before giving out, taking the unnatural glow from the veins as it did so.

"What _is_ that," Lenalee asked, standing beside Allen as he knelt down and flipped the body over. After a moment, he shook his head before getting up. He didn't know.

"Let's go," he said, taking a look at the trees before heading through them. Mother's should be here somewhere. He had to make sure both her and Barba were okay.

 _The trees are different from what I remember,_ he thought, both him and Lenalee staying silent as they deacticated their Innocence and walked.

Lenalee...

The only reason why he hadn't tried to leave her thus far (even though he wanted to for her own safety) was because of that _thing_ that attacked them. If there was one, it's only logical for there to be more. And if there was more, it would be safer for both him and Lenalee to travel together.

"Um, Allen," Lenalee said after a while. "Do you know where you're going?"

"Of course." His response was light and delivered with a closed-eyed smile when, in truth, he was beginning to doubt himself. Mother's shouldn't have been far so why is it taking so long to reach the church? _Could_ he have taken the wrong turn? It didn't seem likely. So why did nothing feel familiar?

There! A break in the trees! Allen sighed with relief, thinking that it was fine. He'll just check on Mother and Barba and if there's no danger, sneak out when Lenalee isn't paying attention. Then he'll go about his way and figure out how to defeat the Fourteenth by himself. Wait...

Allen came to an abrupt stop when they left what he deemed to be a forest. He wasn't the only one, a surprised gasp leaving Lenalee's lips. This...wasn't right.

Why was there a walled off city in the middle the water?

 _This isn't the church._

Allen scanned his surroundings, trying to see how they could get inside. It seemed rather obvious earlier that staying outside just might be a little more dangerous. So far, the only way in looked to be through the railroad tracks. Interestingly enough, there was a bridge that abruptly cut off the tracks when raised.

"What is this?" Lenalee grew more alert, if a little lost. "Why is the city isolated like that? Where are we?"

"I don't know," was Allen's response, this time entirely true. "I think we're going to have to find out."

They soon made it to the tracks with Allen peering cautiously over the edge. That...was a really long way down.

 _"Heeeeey! Heeeeeeey!"_

Allen and Lenalee shared a glance as a distant voice reached their ears. At first, they weren't certain as to whether or not they had heard it. Then they looked over across the bridge. A person could be seen on the other side. Allen smiled, waving his hand as he called out. "Hey!"

 _"Are you human or Kabane!?"_

"Huh?" Allen glanced at his comade. "Did he say Kabane?"

"I think so." She grew thoughtful. "Do you think that's the creature that attacked us?"

"There's a good chance."

 _"Are you human or Kabane!?"_

Allen cupped his hands to make his voice louder as he shouted the answer. "We're human!"

He almost didn't notice Lenalee flinching, flashing him a sympathetic look before lowering her gaze to the ground. He chose not to say anything about it and pretended that he didn't see.

To his relief, the bridge began to lower. It was long going but the two Exorcists waited patiently for it.

 _"Hurry!"_

"I guess that means we should run," Allen had informed. Lenalee nodded before both ended up sprinting down the tracks. Halfway through, the bridge began to ascend.

 _These guys really are paranoid,_ Allen had thought, half-running and half-sliding down the concrete before the bridge was completely up. He was slightly out of breath by the time him and Lenalee had stopped. And judging by the latter, she was as well.

 _Click._

The Exorcists froze when the sound of a gun reached their ears. Looking up, Allen and Lenalee tensed when they noticed the barrel pointed at them.

"Are you two bit," one of the two men demanded, looking at them with fear.

"I'm sorry, what?" Allen had asked.

"Bit! Are either of you bit!?" His voice had risen with a small amount of hysteria.

"No." The white-headed teen smiled as calmly as possible, holding his hands up in a way that said _I-mean-no-harm._ "We're not bit."

"Then take off your clothes and prove it!"

"Huh?" He wasn't sure he heard correctly. The other person aimed their gun at Lenalee.

"You too! You take off your clothes too!"

"What!?" Lenalee held her hands close to her chest, taking a step back as her purple irises stared at them incredulously.

"That's not any way you should treat a lady," Allen said, his smile slipping off his face. "That's not polite."

"Shut up! We have to see if either of you are bitten!"

"I'm certain that there are _better_ ways to check." He crossed his arms stubbornly. "I will not have my friend discard her clothes for a couple of perverted men. Correct me if I'm wrong but you _must_ have a protocol for this."

Both men's cheeks had turned pink at the proclamation. One turned to the other. "H-He's right."

"...Tch, fine." The men lowered their weapons. "Follow me and _don't_ do anything stupid. One wrong move and I'll shoot the both of you."

Allen had on a closed-eyed smile. "I guess that's acceptable."

They ended up being led from the tracks and into the city. It _was_ a really large area filled with hundreds of thousands of people. No, more than that. Allen felt rather out of place in his prison clothes and wished rather wistfully that he had his uniform. Or something else that didn't make him feel like a criminal.

"You'll be searched for bite marks here," the man told Lenalee. "The ones checking you will be a woman."

"...Thank you," she said quietly before disappearing inside. The man and Allen went a door down.

"This is were you'll be checked."

"Ah..thanks." Allen bowed his head and headed in. He paused when he noticed yet another man inside. "Um...I think I'm suppose to be checked for bite marks."

"Take off your clothes," one of them huffed. Allen hesitated, more so because of his scars, before he proceeded to do so. The man quirked an eyebrow, staring at the scar on his chest. "Now how did a kid like you get something like that?"

"Oh, you know." Allen chuckled nervously. "It's a dangerous world we live in."

"That's true." The man nodded. "You're good. No bite marks I can see."

"Thank you very much." Allen quickly redressed and was about to leave before pausing. "Do you know where I can get some clothes?"

"...There should be a market a couple of streets away. They'll have clothes there."

"Again, thank you so much." Bowing his head, Allen left the building. He stopped in his steps when he noticed Lenalee looking nervous outside. Upon seeing him, she instantly smiled.

"Good! For a moment, I thought you left me."

"I didn't," he replied, smiling in return. "I was told that there was a market a couple streets down. Do you mind if we go? I would like a change of clothes."

Lenalee scanned his outfit, a brief look of sadness flashing across her face so quickly, Allen wasn't sure he had seen it. But he knew her so it wouldn't have been surprising if she did have that look on. "Sure."

They walked down the beaten path with curious eyes being drawn to them. Allen nearly wandered the wrong way until Lenalee had called him, standing in the entrance of the shop they were suppose to be at. "In here."

Allen chuckled, heading inside. Lenalee rolled her eyes. "I swear that your sense of direction has gotten _worse._ "

He couldn't deny that. They were in an entirely new place so it's only natural that his sense of direction and a hearty dose of bad luck would have them end up horribly lost. The only times that those two tend to lead him towards a destination is when there's trouble.

"Ah, new customers." An elderly woman smiled at them from behind the counter. "Feel free to look around. What's here up front is everything I have to sell."

Allen did as she had instructed, looking for anything that would be similar to his normal attire. He soon found something similar to a beige sack coat as well as a white shirt, dark trousers, a pair of sturdy boots, gloves, and a simple black tie. They didn't seem to have any ribbon ties, unfortunately. None of them were of the normal British style but they were close enough.

"How much are these?"

She gave him a price. Allen began to rifle through his pockets when he paused. He didn't have money.

"Yen, right?" Lenalee began to shift through her pockets. Smiling, she set the amount on the counter. "There."

"Lenalee, I can't-"

"I'm getting them for you whether you like it or not," she stated stubbornly. "I don't want you in...those anymore."

"Yes but that's _you_ mone- _Ow_!"

A flash of gold had slipped from his pockets and firmly clamped it's jaws on his ear. Allen held it with pain on his face, turning towards his golem. "Timcanpy! What was that for!?"

"See, Tim agrees." Lenalere turned towards the old woman. "Thank you very much. We'll be leaving now."

Allen, who was still rubbing his throbbing ear, frowned lightly. "Hold on, Lenalee." His silver-gray eyes had fallen on the women. "Excuse me, miss. What are...Kabane? I think that's how it was said."

The woman glanced suspiciously between the two. "How do you not know what Kabane are?"

"We're from-" Lenalee had begun.

"A small village," her comrade had interrupted with a lie. "Most adults don't even like to talk about what's outside the...walls. We saw these creatures when we were coming in but..."

"Those creatures are Kabane." Allen hid a sigh of relief, a fluttering Timcanpy settling in his hair. "They were once human but a curse changed them into the monsters they now are. They'll attack anything in sight. Humanity managed to preserve itself in stations, large places like this. The only way to a station is on train and to do even that is dangerous. I've been hearing on how a lot of them are falling lately. For the people on-board those trains, it must be like heaven to see a station with the living."

"Are the Kabane just here?"

"Could be," the woman had responded. "Or the Kabane could be all over the world. Personally, I think it's the second option. We haven't heard from the others in...oh, a little over twenty years now. Do you have any other questions?"

"Just on." Allen smiled. "Where are we at, exactly?"

"Aragane Station, of course," the lady snorted.

"That's...not what i meant."

"Oh, I see. You're talking about the country. My, those folks of yours must've really wanted to keep the two of you sheltered." The Exorcists briefly glanced at each other. "You're on Hinomoto. A island in a country in the Far East. Now I'm assuming that's all?"

"Yes ma'am." Allen bowed. "Thank you." Both him and Lenalee retreated from the market and headed down the road. The latter was rather quiet. "Let's see...now I'll have to find some place to put these on."

"...Allen?"

"Yes, Lenalee?"

"Why did you lie to that woman?"

Confused, Allen turned towards her. When he saw the uncertain look in her face, he adverted his gaze off to the side. "For protection, mostly. You saw how those guards looked at us, right? They're suspicious of outsiders. The lady said so herself that they hadn't seen someone from other countries for over twenty years." He sighed. "What I don't understand is why the Ark let us off here. It can only take me to places I've been to and yet..."

Tim fluttered in Allen's view, making him smile as he allowed the golem to land on his palm and stroked it's feather. His smile soon faltered as he grew serious. "We'll have to be careful with what we say. One wrong move around those people with guns and I suspect that barrel will be facing us again."

"Yeah," Lenalee had responded with some reluctance. Her amethyst irises flickered over to the clothes her comrade held. "Let's go find a hotel for tonight, okay? Then tomorrow we'll go looking for why we ended up here."

"That sounds like a plan," Allen laughed.

Tim flapped his wings.

* * *

That night, Allen just couldn't sleep. Lenalee rested on the bed from the other side of the room and he tried in vain to do the same. His silver-gray eyes stared at the darkened ceiling and he had an arm resting on his forehead. For the longest time, it was just silent. Allen was just about to get up and wander around when he heard it.

A crash. Then...

Screams.

"Lenalee!"

Allen had sat up and got out of bed as quickly as he could, a yawn stretching from Timcanpy's mouth from where he rested on the pillow. He shook his comrade's arms until she woke up.

"A-Allen?" She sat up and looked around wildly. "What's wrong? An Akuma?"

"I don't know," he stated truthfully, heading towards the window. "There was a crash and now people are screaming."

He hopped out the window, landing lightly on the floor below. Normally Allen was not one to exit in that fashion but right now, time was of the essence. Lenalee landed beside him and Tim did well to stay out of grabbing range from any inhumane creature.

"What's going on," Allen tried asking as people ran past them. Apparently, their fear was too great. No one was willing to respond. Until his eybrow twitched in annoyance and Allen forcibly stopped a man.

"Hey," the man cried. "Lemme go!"

"What's going on?"

"Are you daft!? The _Kabane_ have broken in! Aragane is done for! Our only hope now are the trains! Now let me _go_!"

Allen did as the man said, both him and Lenalee watching him head off.

"Allen," she murmured.

"...Let's try to save as many of these people as we can." He turned towards her and smiled. "Aim for the heart and don't get bitten."

"Right." Lenalee smiled, although hers was more in relief at his response. "Let's do it."

And just like that, both Exorcists headed into the fray.

Seeing _how_ many people were inflicted with fear was not a pretty sight. All of them were like cockroaches scurrying for cover. Parents abandoned children. People stampeding over their neighbors. It seemed to be the embodiment of hell on Earth. Soon, most of the humans were gone and the Exorcists found themselves facing the Kabane.

 _"Kyaaaaa!"_

Allen and Lenalee's attention was diverted, both of them finding a child about to be attacked by the creatures. Activating Crown Clown, Allen used Clown Belt to hold the Kabane in place. Lenalee used the opportunity to drive a hefty kick with her Dark Boots into it's heart. The Kabane sagged and Allen let it go, where it died on the ground.

"You're alright now," Lenalee had said tenderly as both Exorcists placed themselves in front of the child. She looked up at them with tearful eyes as she sniffed. Then a look of awe passed over her features.

"Are you two _angels,_ " she breathed.

"Well...um..." Lenalee glanced at her comrade, who shrugged in response. "We're-"

"Kabane," Allen shouted, breaking her sentence as he punched one that was leaping at them. His face twitched slightly as he realized that doing that had left his right hand smarting, like the bones of the creature was reinforced with something heavier. Still, it went flying away back into the crowd. "Lenalee, get her to safety!"

"But Allen-"

" _Go_!"

Lenalee froze. All she could imagine, could _think_ of, was the last time Allen had said that. She was saving a little girl from Suman, who had become a Fallen One. And then he had...Tyki had...

" _No._ " Her voice was sharp, nearly completely unlike her normal tone. Allen looked taken aback as she kicked a dangerously close Kabane away. "You almost _died_ last time! We're taking her _together_!"

Allen nodded, mostly for the sake of saving himself from another Kabane, and continued to fight.

"There's too many," he had eventually said after taking down a few. "Lenalee, fall back"

"Got it!" Grabbing the little girl, Lenalee began running down the path with the child in her arms and Allen behind them. Any Kabane that had gotten too close for his liking, he tried turning the bandages of Crown Clown into javelins to pierce their heart. And right now, his aiming wasn't the best...

They rounded a corner to head to the trains when they were forced to pause.

"Allen, isn't that...?"

"...The clothes lady." He nodded solemnly. "Yes."

The lady Allen had bought his clothes from wobbled as she walked, her glowing irises setting on the Exorcists. Her gray lips parted as she bared her teeth, looking more than ready to tear them to pieces. The person she was is no more, leaving her to be a Kabane. Allen brought forth his Sword of Exorcism, rushing towards her.

"May this bring salvation to your soul," he muttered, swinging the blade as hard as he could. The old woman collapsed to the ground in a spray of blood. Turning his gaze away from the sight, both he and Lenalee hurried.

"This is awful," Lenalee said aloud as they continued making their way through the disarray of the streets. They had lost the horde of Kabane but that meant little with the random droves that kept appearing. Were the tracks always this far? "There!"

Finally! The Kabane haven't reached the train yet. That's good news.

"I'm going to get her on board," Lenalee had informed.

Her comrade nodded. "I'll guard the train."

She nodded and used her Dark Boots to advance. Allen made his way to the terrified guards and crowd a currently there and held his sword at in preparation.

"Go get in line for inspections," one of the soldiers ordered, forcing himself to look as though he was not as terrified as he was. His upturned eyebrows and sweaty face was a dead give-away though.

"There's a line to get on the train?" Allen didn't look amused. "This is a crisis and people are going to be _filtered_ onto safety?"

"We must make sure that we won't be attacked! Now get into the line and get checked!"

The white-headed Exoricist shook his head. "I'm protecting the train. You should just let everyone board and check for bite marks _there._ In fact, you should head inside as well. I got this."

"N-no!" The guard's face contrasted his words. He very much wanted to head inside. "I'm a Bushi! I must complete my duty!"

Their duty? Bushi? Is it like a form of security? Allen listened to the wailing crowd as he contemplated.

"Let us on!"

"The Kabane are coming!"

"Pleaaaase!"

"You must all be checked for bites!"

"We need to make sure that the train will survive!"

Was the purpose of the Bushi to protect humanity or to kill it?

"What's going on," Lenalee had asked upon arrival. Timcanpy, having judged the area as "safe" had flown down to nestle in his owner's hair.

"They're stopping people from boarding the train," Allen had stated, sounding rather annoyed. "I don't get why they decided to look for marks while everyone is still in danger."

"That's not right."

"Yeah." Allen and Lenalee stood in silence for a moment before the former released a noise of complaint and stalked over to the Bushi. "Just let people on board! Do you even understand the situation we're all in!?"

"We have to keep the infected from boarding!"

"Is that _before_ or _after_ we get overwhelmed and become one of those things!?"

The Bushi paused then gulped.

A woman's piercing scream had broken their conversation and that was all it took to get everyone in a panic. Gone away were the "inspections" as people struggled to head inside. Allen glanced at Lenalee as both noticed the two inhuman creatures.

"What are you doing, Ikoma," a voice could be heard asking.

It came from two teenagers, one whose hair was green with a white lock and the other with black hair.

"If they see me take out the Kabane, they'll have to accept me."

A normal human taking on the Kabane. There was no way that would work out too well. Allen took a step forward, more than ready to call forth his Innocence when something flew into the first Kabane and threw a sharp piece of wood at the other. No, not something. _Someone._

A girl with short black hair and reddish-brown eyes walked over to the fallen Kabane and kept stabbing the creature until she pierced it's heart.

The Exorcists shared yet another glance, this one more perplexed than anything. Her behavior insinuates that this is nothing lnew to her. Very much like Accommodators when facing Akuma. She began to head to the locomotive with a yawn before that green-haired teen spoke out to her.

"We should probably get on the train," Allen had said as Timcanpy fluttered beside him. He had turned to Lenalee as he spoke, her amethyst irises having settled on the trio. Allen had rested his broadsword where it belonged before deactivating his Innocence.

"The Kabane aren't here!" had exclaimed a voice that belonged to neither of them.

Cheers resounded as a crowd of people appeared. A few on horses, a _majority_ on foot. They immediately began running towards the train with a woman saying on how they wouldn't leave until everyone boards.

Good, because Allen himself would stop the conductor from leaving if he had to.

"It looks like we're staying out here just a bit longer," Allen informed Lenalee with a closed-eyed smile and a light chuckle.

"Did you lead everyone here," inquired the green-haired teen.

"No." The small girl tied a ribbon around her neck. Her voice was laced with exhaustion. "They just followed me on their own." She began walking away from them. "You're getting on too, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"You!"

A male with an equestrian rode up with a few guards, _Bushi,_ by his side. "You're suppose to be in jail."

"Yeah, you almost got me killed," went the green-headed teen.

"Maybe you were already dead. That's why you were able to get out of your cell."

Allen felt his eyebrow twitch. Something about this guy reminded him a lot of _Kanda._ Could it be his facial expression or the condescending way he spoke? Hell, it could do with his brown hair being tied up in a ponytail for all he knew. Either way, the man aimed the gun at the person he was speaking to. Allen himself was just tired and wanted to be on the train so he could _finally_ sleep. He can't even remember the last time he had a good night's rest. That, and the fact that the green-haired teen obviously was _not_ a monster, led the Exorcist to stand in the way of the gun, albeit with that closed-eyed smile and gloved hands raised. Tim, thankfully, had chosen to stick by Lenalee.

"Get out of the way," the man ordered, the surprise that had shown on his face fading almost immediately.

"Sorry, but I can't." Allen had apologized as sincerely as he could. After all, this wasn't Kanda and he should at least _try_ to get along. "I think your reasoning on this person being a Kabane is a bit flawed." At the narrowing of the man's eyes, the Exorcist dared to continue. "Correct me if I'm wrong but Kabane don't seem smart enough to open doors. They certainly can't coordinate their attacks and I believe that they can't even hold a conversation like this."

"He's right." The black-haired girl yawned once more before smiling rather sleepily. "This guy isn't a Kabane."

* * *

Allen and Lenalee had boarded the train and took a look at everyone there. The latter was relieved that they managed to save so many people while Allen himself was curious about the Kabane. Both Kabane and Akuma attacked humans and had a virus but one killed while the other...changed. Anyone can kill a Kabane but that didn't hold true for Akuma. What a horrible place they had ended up in.

"Let's check the train," Lenalee had said, breaking Allen from his thoughts. "We'll rest when we leave the walls."

"Alright."

They walked through each car at a leisurely place. Surely, since the locomotive has moving, the chances of them being attacked had lessened?

No.

The train shook as something heavy could be heard constantly crashing into the sides of the train. Bushi could be found along some of the cars but that didn't make Allen feel any more at ease. These creatures could possibly break in and if so, the only ones who could handle them was just Lenalee and himself. And maybe that girl but something told him that she probably wouldn't be participating this time. Considering how linear this was, neither Exorcist would be able to protect these people if a break-in were to happen.

"Are there any Bushi in the back," Lenalee had asked. Allen thought for a moment but he couldn't recall.

"I don't know."

"Let's go check then." Lenalee began walking. "Now that we're on the move, the back of the train will be the most vulnerable."

Allen nodded and walked by her side. He didn't like this one bit. The air, the monsters, the people. _All_ of this was off. The danger here was just as potent as the Akuma. Maybe even more so. Timcanpy followed behind. Close, but not too close should either Exorcist need to fight. As they reached the back of the train and were just about to open the door, screams sounded from the other side. Lenalee and Allen glanced at each other before the male flung the door open and prepared to attack.

There were a lot of people in this freight. The elderly, the women, the young. Everyone scared out of their minds. They live in constant fear. The door to the outside of the locomotive had been pulled open to let in a Kabane by none other by the green-haired teenager Allen had help protect before. He had practically rammed into the creature once, twice, a third time before sparks flung from it's chest and it went flying out the train. The teenager panted before turning towards them with a victorious smile. Lenalee released a sharp gasp as her eyes made their way to his chest.

"See that everyone," he had said. "With this piercing gun, we can-"

He abruptly cut himself off, noticing how people were regarding _him_ with muted fear.

"Ikoma..," the black-headed boy had questioned, pointing at his friend. "What's with your chest?"

The green-headed male, _Ikoma,_ looked down at his chest only to find a part of it pulsating light. The same light as the Kabane. "I-I thought I stopped the virus!"

"Allen," Lenalee asked as Ikoma continued with how they studied the bodies of the people who had been infected. "He's not turning into one of _those,_ is he?"

"I don't think so."

"And why is that?"

"Look at his skin." Allen nodded towards the teenager. "It isn't gray like how the other Kabane are. He's eyes are different from them as well. He obviously has intellect and logic and knows how to use either. I seriously doubt that he is a Kabane. There's a chance he _could_ partially be one but he's too humane for them."

"Move aside! Where's the Kabane? Was anyone bitten?"

People parted aside for three Bushi, one of which who was that guy with the ponytail. A male pointed over at Ikoma.

"You again." Allen set his jaw as the man approached the green-headed teenager. He pulled his gun up. "Now I know. I should have killed you when I had the chance!"

"Please stop!" The boy pleaded. "I'm not-"

"Don't even pretend to be human. You're a _Kabane_!"

"Allen!" Lenalee had cried out as a gunshot sounded. The Exorcist had tried to head right in front of the gun's barrel in order to protect the teenager but his silver-gray irises widened when he saw that he was too late. He wasn't even close enough to grab Ikoma as the poor boy went flying off the train

"Is that how you guys treat _everyone_ you end up not liking," he demanded, glaring at the Bushi. "You just slap on, 'Oh look, he's a Kabane' and fire?"

"You saw his chest, didn't you?" The man glared at Allen. "His heart was like a Kabane. Or maybe you're defending him because you're one too."

"How _stupid_ could you be? You're letting fear dictate your actions. Kabane can't _think._ They can't even use their own voice to defend their own species. For all you knew, probably half the people you dub as this _Kabane_ were just normal, scared people. It's amazing how anyone can trust you when you're willing to point guns at people's faces just for the littlest of reasons." He narrowed his eyes at the Bushi. "I'm going to go bring that guy back up here. You shoot at me if you'd like but I wouldn't recommend it. I'm not quite in the mood to take it easy on you."

"Allen?"

He turned to look at Lenalee, who had her hands clasped together. "Please come back quickly, okay?"

He smiled softly at her and nodded. "I'll leave Timcanpy here with you. I don't want to risk the Kabane grabbing him."

She nodded in understanding and Allen walked past the open door.

"Please save him," the black-headed friend of Ikoma pleaded. "He's my best friend."

"I'll try my best." Allen gave him a calming smile as well and, to his surprise, hopped off the train.

"Seal the door!" He had heard someone yell.

He landed lightly on the ground. It was surprisingly vacant of Kabane.

"Get the hell off of me!"

Allen sprinted towards the voice, instantly recognizing it as Ikoma's. The teenager was surrounded on all sides, taking the Kabane out one at a time with his weird gun thing. The Exorcist summoned his Innocence, leaving Crown Clown in it's claw form before stabbing one of the Kabane in the back as hard as he could. He was grateful that their hearts glowed, providing him to not miss when he attacked.

"Y-you!" Ikoma exclaimed as Allen used ribbons from his cloak to hold all the Kabane at a distance. Pulling out his Sword of Exorcism, he spun around, angling the blade so that it targeted their chests. Blue sparks flew and when he was done, he allowed Crown Clown to release them. All the Kabane fell in heaps, leaving the boy dazed. "What are you...?"

Allen allowed the sword to revert to his claws and held out his normal hand with a smile. "My name is Allen Walker. I'm an Exorcist."

"An exorcist? You mean one of those robes guys who dump water on you and recite prayers?"

"Um..." Allen's smile faltered. "I'm not that type of exorcist."

The roars of the Kabane distracted the two from their conversation and the Exorcist grew serious. "Come on, let's head back to the train."

"W-wait, the train!?"

"Yes." Allen gave Ikoma a look. "You didn't think I hopped off the train just to kill you, did you?"

"You _hopped_ of the train!?"

He grabbed Ikoma by the arm and headed down the train tracks.

"W-wait." Ikoma pulled his arm away. "They don't want me up there. They think...I'm a Kabane. As soon as I show my face, they'll shoot me."

Allen sighed, pondering what to do.

"Look," he began. "This has been a long night for everyone. The people on that train are too frightened to do anything but point fingers and hope someone stronger does the dirty work. The Kabane won't stop and seeing the luck that this station has had, I think that there will be more complications further along the tracks. If they don't let you back on board, which I will _not_ stand for, at least try to help them so that when the danger is all out of the way and everyone is calm enough to think, they'll have to swallow the fact that the person they had called a _monster_ had saved them from becoming one."

Ikoma had stared at Allen with wide eyes as he spoke. When he had finished, the teenager grinned determinedly and held up his strange gun. "You got it."

"It's not going to be easy," the Exorcist admitted. "Be prepared for a struggle."

The teenager nodded before he and Allen began to sprint down the tracks. So far, any of the Kabane they had come across was an easy kill. More so, in Ikoma's eyes, because Allen was immediately taking care of it by the time he noticed. His claws swiped across the sky, settled with a steely expression, before blood sprayed and the Kabane went falling to the ground. The way he moved reminded Ikoma of a dancer. He was quick and fluid, making sure that his moves weren't wasted and always following up with another attack in case his first one did not connect. He was experienced with battle.

Allen hated being right. They arrived at the train only to find it stuck and crawling with Kabane. That's when the work grew harder and he had to shift to his broadsword to take out so many. Ikoma seemed to be faring well himself, taking out the Kabane as soon as they bit him. Allen wasn't too sure of his method of choice at fighting but if it seems to be keeping the teenager alive, which it was, he wasn't going to protest.

"It looks like it's jammed," Ikoma voiced when they made their way past the train. "We'll have to flip the manual switch in order to lower the bridge."

Allen nodded in agreement as he sliced at another Kabane and watched it fall. Another one was too close for comfort so he sent a roundhouse kick to it and didn't pay it a second thought as it collided with the monster next to it.

"Go," Allen ordered. "I'll hold the Kabane off while you flip the switch."

Ikoma nodded and proceeded on his way. It seemed Allen had been mistaken on how much their bites had affected the teenager as he slowly made his way over to the switch a good twelve feet away. Determination and willpower seemed to be the only thing keeping him from teetering sideways.

A Kabane latched it's teeth onto the cloak of Crown Clown. Allen glared at it before shoving the Sword of Exorcism ruthlessly into it's heart. He grit his teeth as a dreadfully familiar headache spiked across his mind.

Not now. _Please_ not now. He did _not_ have the time for this.

 _I'll have to make time,_ he thought with frustration, cleaving through another Kabane. His normally fluid form was becoming shaken as he attacked the next monster. He was fairly certain that his skin was darkening as his whole body lit up with some mind-numbing agony. It was taking everything he had now to not collapse. Against his will, he rested the Sword of Exorcism on the ground, propping himself up on it as he stared blankly at an incoming Kabane.

"Allen!"

The Kabane's head was sent careening to the ground. Lenalee landed lightly beside it, her amethyst eyes regarding her comrade with worry. The worry seemed to amplify as the white-headed Exorcist slid to the ground.

"Lena...lee..." he said, huffs of air leaving his lips. "The switch... Did he pull... the switch?"

"Allen, you're skin..." She knelt on the ground.

"I'm fine..." And yet his intakes of air insinuated that he wasn't. "The switch... The train... Is it moving?"

"Yes." She looked down to avoid meeting Allen in his golden eyes. "You should deactivate you're Innocence now."

The Exorcist nodded, putting the sword where it belonged before allowing it to deactivate. Lenalee helped pull him to his feet. Allen's little pants seemed to increase.

"Ikoma," he asked, scanning the area.

"There." She nodded. The teenager was on all fours and seemed to be...crying. And there was that brown-headed girl in her fighting gear talking to him. "Allen, if I bring you up there in that condition... Those people will kill you."

"It'll pass..." Allen wasn't sure he liked knowing that fact. It would be better if it didn't happen at _all._ "Just a moment longer."

True to his word, the darkness of his skin faded away, allowing the gold in his irises to return back to their natural silver-gray. His breathing steadied as well but he still looked utterly exhausted. Still, he couldn't hold back a smile as he watched Ikoma practically being dragged up to the train by a wire. With Lenalee smiling as well, more at Allen's reaction to it, she had her Dark Boots take the both of them up. As Ikoma was dragged back inside, they could hear him complaining.

"Why did you do that!? I didn't _want_ your help! I'm a Kabane now! Leave me alone!"

"After all the work I put into saving you," Allen asked teasingly as he moved away from Lenalee, leaning against the wall.

"Allen!" Ikoma stared at the Exorcist. "Are you alright? Were you bitten?"

"No, I wasn't bitten." Allen waved him off. "I just got tired is all." He was going to continue talking but blinked in surprise as he watched something get thrown their way. And to his annoyance, the one who threw it was that Bushi with the ponytail. _So whatever that thing is, it's meant to kill._

"I'm honored that you saved my life," he had said. He didn't sound particularly _honored._ "That was truly heroic. I ask that whatever humanity lives inside of you: Take your life, and save us all!" And of course, he pulls up his gun, followed closely by his other comrades.

Allen was there in seconds, forgoing a little rest to stand determinedly in front of the barrel. "If that's how you treat the people you honor, I would hate to see how you treat the people you hate." He glared.

"And what are _you,_ " the Bushi demanded. "We saw you fighting. You can't be a Kabane but you also can't be human."

"How _smart_ of you," Allen growled. This guy bothered him so much _more_ than Kanda. "The way I fight is too different for you to slap a Kabane label on it so I _must_ be something other than human. For your information, I am an _Exorcist._ A human with abilities granted to me by God _._ " He was hoping that the venom to the accursed God was not pronounced. Even if he didn't care much for the supposedly higher entity, he _had_ made Allen's life hell. "And that teenager over there, I assure you that he isn't a _Kabane._ I have no idea on _what_ he is but he definitely isn't a monster."

"You're right. He's not a Kabane but he's also not human."

The girl in the gear walked closer to them, undoing the ribbon on her outfit before turning around. She had a dark mark on her back which glowed, just like the hearts of the Kabane. "We're what you call _Kabaneri._ Something between Kabane and human."


End file.
